Direct-fire-control system



Jan. Q, 1923.

R. V. MORSE. DlREcT FIRE CONTROL SYSTEM.

2 sHEErss'HEET l FlLED MAR. 28. 1921 vindividual trajectories), is` described. This Patented Jan. 9, 1923.

UNITED STATES ROBERT V. MORSE 0F ITHACA, NEW YORK.

DIRECT-FIRE-CONTROL SYSTEM.

Application led March 28, 1921. Seria1 No. 456,119.

T0 all lwhom it 'may cofncewi.:

Be it known Athat I. ROBERT V; MORSE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ithaca, in the county of Tompkins and State' of New York. have invented a new and use- 'ful-Direct-Fire-Control System, of which the following. taken with the accompanying rdraw-ings is a specification.

This invention relates to anti-aircraft ordnance, and in particular to means for directing-and controlling the fire of machine guns capable of firing shells having; adjustable time fuses, such as the so-called pom-pom7 one Jounder type of machine gun. In Patent o. 1.355.841, Tracer system of fire control, issued to me October 19, 1920, the problem of 'tracing such fire by directI observation is analyzed, and a means for making visible the apparent stream of fire, (as distinguished from the invention is a development or improvement .of Ithe system described in that patent, and

consists in general in maintainiinea continuous visible bursting polnt whose location in space is under the complete control cfjthe gunner, who can move it up or down, right or left. and nearer o r Jfarther 1 n range. at will. No sights` range determmatlons. deflection settings 'or 'computations of anyV kind are required,the manipulation of the gun being adirect. reiiex from observation of the continuous burst-ing` point, as is' necessary where an engagement is a matter of seconds or at most a few minutes. Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 1

illustrates in a somewhat diagrammatic mannerthe method ofiire control .embodiedin' this invention; Fig-2 is a longitudinal view partly in 'crossfsection showing one form o'f thecontinuous'fuse-setting mechanism; Fig. 3 is a View from the -leftend .of the rotating drum. Flg. 4 is a front end elevation of amachine gun equipped with lthcl continuous fuse-setter, showing 'tlh'e'cartridge belt as"fed thru the mechanism.'

In Fig. 1 the machine gun 5, is of va type such as the one-pounder ble of'liring' a projectile suiiie'iently large fuse, tliegun 5 being mounted in the usual trun# nions ona revolving base 4so that it can'be freely pointed in any `direction fin the usual manner. Combined vviththegun is an automatic' fuse-setting mechanism' 6 which sets' the fuses of the shells in the cartridge fuse setting given by for example capa-v 'of'a clutch 11 Whichl atthe belt 7 just bet'or they are i'ired,the cartridge belt 7 fee ing setting mechanism l@um is in operation. The amount of the the mechanism 6 is continuously thru the' 6 and gun 5 when 'the controlled by a lever or -wheel 8, by means-- of which the gunner the range of ithe bursting''point 'as easily land promptly ashe can control the direC-. tion.. The location of the. bursting point does not of course respond instantaneously tothe will of the gunner, as"an interval of time must elapse while travellingr thru the air. For reason the bursting point cannot always be laid imrnediatelyV upon the airplane, and the trail of bursts 9 will generally notrespondimmediately to a. sharp burn in the course of the airplane. However, the errors generally inherent 'in the burning of time fuses cause a certain amount of ditfusionii the bursts, so that the trail of bursts 9 is, generally not so precise'and narrow as indicated in Fig.'.;1, so thal't. it covers "to a certain'extent ordinary changes in the course of thel airplane. When the gun 5 is pointed by the use of a stock or handle, the same man may both point the gun and controlgthe range ot its bursting point. VVhenelevatthe projedtiile" ing.r and traversing wheels are used to point.A I

the gun, diiferent men may 'tem such-as has been above described is of ,course 'a fuse-.setting mechanism voperatir'ig in .combination with a machine gun of the type mentioned." This ,mechanism sets the fuses insuccession4 in the belt just before they arenfi-red-from .the gun, and must con tinuously make these settings Witha rapidity'corresponding to the rate of fire of the gun,-several shots aiSeCQndf-in' order to maintain aconti'nuous a continuous Stream of fir tive form shown in' detail in Figs. 2,3, and 4.

Referring... 'now especiallyV heart of the fuse-setting mechanism 'consists roper time ell or car- One" illustra- `grips thel main body of the s tridge .12 so as to grasp-it firmly and holdit fromro tion, and a lSef ond'clutch 1 3 which can sli e and turn 11 and' which grips the fuse-ring 14 on the nose of the shelll and then proceeds to turn be. employed for the pomting and for controllingr the.

of such 'setting mechanism' isV to Fig. 2, the-` freely Within the clutch 11o -jam, and .increasing the liability to errors lin setting.

fuse settings "resulting from the action of Va completely set shell, the

on the fixed shaft 15, and is carried out into a disk or plate 19 having-holes or sockets arranged equidistantl around near its eriphery, in each of W ich sockets a tubu ar clutch 1l, of the cone faced type, can slide but cannot turn. A eartrid e belt wheel 20 is bolted to the plate 19, and 1s provided with suitable indentations to, accommodate the cartridges in the belt. The Wheel 20 is arranged so thatl each cartridge l2 'falls into place with its nose directly opposite a clutch 11 in a corresponding socket in the plate 19, In the upper part of Fig. 2 the clutch 11 is shown retracted, as after a setting has been com `ileted, or before a setting has been the fuse-ring around thru an amount determined by the setting which has been iven the mechanism by the control wheel or ever 8. The'same action of course may be obtained by holding the fuse-ring stationary and turning the body of the shell. When the fuse-ring 14 vhas been 'turned the desired amount, the clutch 13 is pulled back to release its gri on the fusering, and the body of the s ell or cartridge is then also released by the clutch 12,-theshell thus set being then carried on by the machine gun mechanism and tiredv in the usual manner. It Will be understood that before a belt of cartridgesis fedinto the setting mechanism all the fuse-rings in the'belt are begun. n the lower. part of Ifig. 2 the carefully set at precisely the same value7 Clutch 11 1s shown forced Out grlpping the shell 12 preparatory to beginning 'tion of turning the fuse-ring -Clutch mechanisms are forced thus in and out by levers or lingers 2l ivhich are pivoted at the points. 22,-the pivots 221 being'assuch as zero or safety, so that the ultimate the opera the mechanism :will all correspond to the amount by which the ring 14 was turned by the clutch 18.

'Such a, mechanism may be linked directly mechanically vto the recoil or gas otperated elements of the machine gun mechanism, so that every time a shot was fired the next shell inline would be seized and set by theclutch, but this would necessitate performing the seizing and setting operations with extreme rapidity,.-completing the whole setting operation in a fraction of a second,` increasing the tendency of the Inechanismto1 with the hub 18 around the fixed shaft 15. A roller 23 is mounted. in each finger 21, and rolls on an annular cam face .24, the cam 24 bein 'securely fixed to the stationary shaft 15.- sthe fingers 21 rotate bodily around the shaft'15 and the rollers 2 3 en gage high portions i of the cam 24, the fingers 21 are swung to the right, as shown' in the lower part of Fig. 2; while on other portions of the cam the fingers 21.swin to the left as shown in the 2. Follower springs 25 23 in contact with the cam 24 at all times. The outer extremities of the fingers 21 termina-te in round headed yokes 26 which engage langes 27 and 28, through Which the reciprocating motion is transmitted to the clutch mechanisms -11 and 13.

In order'tha-t the required yielding quality be given to the mechanical force behind thel clutches, the force when engaging .is transmitted thru suitable springs 29." This isnot necessary when moving in 'the opposite direction to disengagejth'e clutch, since in' that direction therecipjicating parts are not forced against any. solid ,obstacle-norA would vit bejnecessary if vmagnetic clutchesA were employed. Taking up the yielding sprmgarrangement more: in detail, the ange 27 is solidly ,attached-to a long tubular bushing 30 'which terminatesat theother f mmjanymjng, A Y end the ,inner clutch facel 13,.opposite In the .form shown in Figs. 2 and 53, the thefuse-rin 14. The bushing 30mn-Slide individual setting nuits are arranged `longitud inal y on an intericrs'haft 31. The radially around a' central shaft 15, and'roange 2 8 is arranged to slide freely on the tate bodily around that shaft as a centerffbushing', and transmits fits vforce to the when'the meehanismfisin operation. A"`bushing '30 thru a spring' 29 which bars', shaft 1t is normally- 'stationary and is lix'eid against ay Hange 32,-the latter flange being in the frameor' br rclgets'l and 1'7", Which-integral on. the 'bushing 30 rThe force is are secured to the liodyorcase ofthe mafurther .transmitted to theA clutch 11 thru chine gun 5 as shown inzlj1 ig...4.; A hubz'lF' another interp'osed'spring -33 arranged inis rotatably mounted ,on suitable bearings lfteriorly ofthe clutch 11, between the clutch Consequently in the preferred form of mechanism selected Ifor illustration herein, I have combined a number of indi-vidual setting. units into 'a multiple ma chine, each unit in its own time carrying thru the same cycle of `operations, but arranged so that when one unitI is releasing next unit back is just completing the setting of its shell, those farther back are in the process of setting, and other units are just 'seizing the shell, and so on through the cycle. By performing simultaneously different -'operations on the shells in therbelt,the""time allowed to complete the cycle 'withia'ny particular shell is extended over-:almuehllonger interval, sothat While-t-bemechnnisr-n an Send out com pletely set shells' Witll'r great rapidity, the in dividual operati-ons"'Within the mechanism. are performed at'. amore-. moderate rate-of speed, giving greater precision and .freedom maintain the rollers 14. The l sembled on a rotatable bushing' which turns upper part of *ig.

CIY

' mechanism.l Thestub the Aplanetary gears tubes lland 13. As force toward the right is applied to the fiangcl 28, the spring 29 transn'iits it to the bushing 30, which in turn transmits it to the clutch 11 thru the spring` 33,the clutzhes 11 and 13 in the initial stages thus moving bodily to thc right. When the clutch,l 11 meets the body of the shell 12 and grips it, it can go no farther, as the cartridge is backed by the solid rim' of the cartridge wheel 20; consequently the spring 33 then begins to yield, until the clutch 13 meets and engages the fuse-ringr 14 ofthe shell. Thereafter neither the clutch 11 nor the clutch 13 can advance any further to the rigl'it; but the motion of the finger 21 continues to force the flange 28 to the ri ht for some distance, thus further compressing the spring 29 and increasing the pressure on the cone clutch 13 until the grip on the fusering 14is suliciently firm. When the finger 21 swings back to the left, .the motion is transmitted thru .the flange 27 directly to the` bushing 30, thus first retracting the clutch 13, andfinallv carrying the clutch 11 also bodily back with it.

It remains to describe the manner in which the clutch 13 is given the desiled rotation after it has. gripped the fuse-ring '14.

A feather key is arranged between the shaft 31 andthe bushing 30, so that while the bushing is free to slide longitudinally on the shaft 31, as has been described, the bushing -30, (and consequently the clutch 13)` can be rotated by -turning'the shaft31. The shaft 31 terminates at the left, as shown in F ig, 2, in a small gear .35;which forms the center of a planetary system,`-as"also shown in Fig. 3 in the partially sectioned portion.. Surrounding the gear 35'are planetary gears 36 which engage internal teeth in the casing 37,` whichfits in a. socket in. the main frame or ring 38 which extendsaround the fixed pivot `shaft .15 and'surnounds the'cam 24. This frameor ring 3.8 has a'series of sockets for the casings 37 spaced in the same manner as the sockets for theclutches 11 inthe' disk. 19. Suitable bearings are interposed between the frame 38 andthe fixed cam 24 so that the frame 38'ca'n rotate with the disk 19,-the disk 19 and frame 3 8 being secured together by a drum shaped. casing 40V which surrounds'and rotates with .the principal shafts. upon which 36 are mounted are not fixed to the frame 38,- but are mounted in a collar 41 which itself can jrotate' or osc'illate l/Vhen the crank around an extension ofthe shaft 31. A crank pin 42 extends from the collar 4l. pin 42 is oscillated'the planetar gears 36 roll around Within the casing 3;, and transmit a'much multiplied oscillation orrotation to the shaft 31. For

example,- with suitably proportioned plane-l 'tary gears, a motion .of say a quarter of a revolution imparted to the crank pin 42 bearings of the inner4 end of the planetary gears "crank shaft is lshown built up of an inner bracket 44 which can be moved up and down by the screw 45 operated vby the control wheel 3 thru the shaft- 46 and bevel gears 47'.

This bracket 44 can thus be thrown off center to any desired'amount,-a hollow space .thru the center of the bracket 44 permitting such motion relative to the fixed central shaft 15. In Fig. 2 the bracket 44 is shown as concentric with the shaft 15, and in Fig. 3 the bracket 44 is shown displaced to its extreme amount relative to the central shaft 15. A large ball bearing 48 is carried on an extension of the bracket 44, and also of coarse surrounds the shaft 15. This bear ing 48 is in turn surrounded by the pivot connect ing rods 43, which are here expanded to large thin rings of metal 49 in order to encompass'the enlarged hollow crank shaft described. It will be noted that though thereis aslight relative motion between the variousrings 49, the chief motion of rotation is taken by the ball bearing 48. so that there is little wear or friction.

` When the bracket44 with its attached bearing 48 Yand rings 49-in other words, the central .crank shaft,i's concentric with the fixed shaft ,15, thebodily rotation of the main mechanism around the shaft 15 will not cause any motion or oscillation ofthe pins 42 relative to the sliaftS 31,-and conse-` quently -no setting would be given the .fusering 14 by the clutch 13. But v.when vthe rings 49 are displaced eccentrically as shown for example in Fig. 3, the bodily 'rotation of the mechanism around the'shaft 15 results in the pins 42-beinggiven a co'rrespending amount of oscillation` turning the :36 in one directionfor half a revolution of the drum 40, and inthe opposite direction for the otherhalf ofthe revolution. The multiplying action of the gears 36. as described above, results in the shaft 31 and clutch 13 being turned thru. ,the desired amount during one-half a bodily rotation Aof the main mechanism or .drum 40i-t||e clutch 13 returning to its initial position 'by the completion of the rotation of the main mechanism. In the formshown in Fig. 4 the main mechanism is rotated b the pull of the cartridge belt 7 which is drawn into the gun, by e operation. of the guns feeding mechanism in the usual manner. Any other means of rotating the setting-mechanisn'i could of course be used. The cartridge belt 7 is fed into the mechanism over an idler wheel 5() as shown in Fig. 4, so that the shell has been firmly gripped by the clutches 11 and 13 by the time the pin 42 and clutch. 13 are at one extreme of their oscillation. Then as the movement progresses the clutch 13 and fuse ring 14 are turned gradually by an amount corresponding to the eccentricity which has been given the rings 49 by the control Wheel 8. Half a cycle after this motion is begun the other end of the oscillation is reached, the motion being given the fuse-ring 14 comes to a stop, and at this instant the action of the cam 24 on thefingers 21 withdraws the clutches 11 and 13 and releases the shell, now set, which passes on to the gun and is fired.

ItA will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the invention is not'limited to the particular form of mechanical setting mech` anisni which has been described by way of illustra-tion; andtha-t various modifications and adaptations may be made in the mechanica-l arrangements of various designs without departing from the scope of the invention Aas defined by, the following claims.

I claim 1. In an automatic fuse-setting mecha-- nismffor machine guns, the combination of means for gripping the body of the shell' .whose fuse is tobe set, a clutch adapted to grip the fuse-ring-of the shell, and mechanical means for causing the first mentioned means to act prior to the action-of the clutch. 2. In an automatic fuse-setting mechanism for machine guns, 4the combination of a.

clutch member adapted to engage the fusering of a shell, asecond clutch memberadnpted to keep the bod)r of the shell from twisting, means for forcing said clutches into action,.a spring interposed between' the first mentioned clutch member and the` second clutch member, `and al spring interposed between said -forcing means and the first mentioned.clutchmembciz j 3. In an automaticfuse-setting mechanism .for machine guns, the combination of a: clutch member adaptedgtov engage the fuse-z -ring 'of a shell, a second clutch member arf-franged to keep the body of the shell from twisting, means for forcing said 'clutches into action, a slnift-arranged tOiftu'rnthe first .to the turning means for the se4 mentioned ,clutch member, and mechanical. means arranged to periodicall turn said shaft so as to give the desired use settings. 4. In an automatic fuse-setting mechanism for machine guns, means for causingr a periodic motion correspondingY to the fuse-setting desired, means for modif ing said motion so as to "ive the amplitu e required for the setting 0'? the fuse, a clutch. and means for rotating said clutch according to said modified motion.

5. In an automatic fuse-setting mechanism for machine guns, the combination of a clutch, means operated by the action of the machine gun for causing said clutch to oscillate, means controlling the amplitude thru 'which said clutch oscillates, and means for fuse-setting nnitsso as to carry them successively thru their cycle of o erations as they'rotate around the central s aft, whereby the operation'of :fuse-setting' may be comp eted on successive shells with greater rapidity than the time required to carry thru a single setting, and means for varying the amount ofthe fuse-setting.

7 In an automa-tic fuse-setting mechanism for machineguns, 'the' combination of a ro tatablewframe adapted t0 receive a number of cartridges, clutches arranged around said frame, a cam mechanism arranged to opcrate the clutches successively' as theframe rotates, a yie'ldable drive connection between the cam mechanism and the clutches, means 'forturning the clutches, sacentral cran-k,

connectors extending `from thegc'entral crank ral clutches, a central s hlaft,`and means'f ar ing the eccentricityf' of the central cran reliative to the central shaft, whereby the "'riiountof the fuse-settings may be c'o'nt'roll'edj- In witness' whereof I"havelhireii"rito set my hand this 22nd day of March, 1:9211'- LnoBERT v, Moses. 

